A Queens mom whose son stood trial last year for the attempted murder of two cops has been indicted, along with her son, for tampering with jurors in that case, causing a mistrial, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Hina Rizvi, 46, and her son, Muhammad Ali, 23, were charged with four counts of first-degree tampering with a juror, two counts of second-degree criminal contempt and one count of sixth-degree conspiracy.
“She showed a complete disregard for the American justice system and court order,” Assistant District Attorney Tara DiGregorio said during Rizvi’s Wednesday arraignment in Queens Supreme Court.
The meddling mom was ordered held on $5,000 bail, and Ali will be arraigned at a later date, prosecutors said.
Ali was on trial last fall for allegedly attempting to run down two Nassau County police officers who had shown up to his Queens home to arrest him for his involvement in a Long Island home invasion.
At his first-degree attempted murder trial, his mom made faces at jurors — and even followed them out during lunch breaks, prosecutors said.
Because of her interference, the four-week trial was eventually declared a mistrial by Justice Kenneth C. Holder.
“Throughout the trial the defendant disobeyed court order,” DiGregorio said during the arraignment.
A subsequent investigation revealed that Ali and his mom were allegedly conspiring to get jurors to acquit him, the Queen’s District Attorney’s office said.
On Oct. 5, 2015, Ali, who was being held without bail on Rikers Island, called up his mom and complained that he was going to end up behind bars because nothing was going the way he wanted it to, according to prosecutors.
He allegedly asked if Rizvi had been able to reach anyone, to which she responded yes, explaining that she had talked to a juror in McDonald’s who “understood everything,” the DA’s office said in a press release.
Ali then insisted that his mom should’ve “played the sympathy card,” according to prosecutors.
In another phone call placed the same day, Ali told his mom that two jurors weren’t on his side — but Rizvi encouraged him not to “jump to conclusions” because she had spoken with jurors, the statement said.
“This was a well thought out plan to target specific jurors,” DiGregorio said during the arraignment.
Defense attorney Mahmoud Rabah insisted that Rizvi will fight the charges.
“This is a grieving mother who has to sit through her son’s trial,” he said. “There was no concerted effort to undermine the criminal justice system.”
If convicted, Ali and Rizvi face up to one year in jail each.